In the Spanish language there are two words for neighbor.
1) prójimo: our fellow-man, everybody in general
2) vecino: our next-door neighbor
This is the first and greatest commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” The second one is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Everything hangs on these two commandments (see Matthew 22:37-40).
- Do we want to hurt ourselves? Of course not! Let’s not hurt anybody else.
- Do we want to be gossiped about? Of course not! Let’s not gossip.
- Do we want to be forgiven? Of course! Let’s be forgiving.
- Do we want to be cared for? Of course! Let’s be compassionate.
- Do we want to be excluded? Of course not! Let’s not show favoritism.
- Do we want to be judged? Of course not! Let’s not judge.
- Do we want to be loved? Of course! Let’s be loving.
The list could go on and on. Here is the best rule of thumb. “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12).
If we treat others as we would like to be treated we can’t go wrong. I don’t think there is anybody that wants to be treated lousy. “Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10).
The apostle James calls this command, of loving your neighbor as yourself, the Royal Law. It’s serious business. The well-being of our life depends on it. (See James 2:8-9.)
Twelve years ago we lived in a house with a big yard to mow. I had gall-bladder surgery and had to be careful with the mowing. My husband wasn’t doing so well so it wasn’t wise to let him do it. One of my neighbors was kind enough to offer her help. When I had rested up after the surgery she wanted to continue with the mowing. Her son was a young teenager and she had him mow parts of the lawn. This continued for at least a couple of years. Her reasoning, “I want my son to learn to be a Good Samaritan.”
You’re probably familiar with the story Jesus told of the Good Samaritan, the man who helped a total stranger that had been robbed, stripped, beaten, and left half dead by the roadside. He bandaged his wounds, put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and cared for him. When he had to continue on his way, he gave the innkeeper two silver coins and asked him to care for the man, promising to reimburse him for any extra expense he may have.
Read the story about the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-35.
The man who had been assaulted was a Jew. Jews and Samaritans did not see eye to eye. So this was doubly exemplary. I will never forget the kindness of my neighbor and her “Samaritan” son. That’s the kind of thing God wants us to do—to do unto others what we would like to experience.
There are so many stories about neighborly kindness, about giving back to the community. As I’m writing, I’m listening to the 700 Club and they are telling a story about a modern day Samaritan. I praise the Lord every time I hear about a Third Millennium Hero. But it should not surprise us. To be a Good Samaritan ought to be the most natural thing.
“Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father,
and do not go to your brother’s house when disaster strikes you —
better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away” (Proverbs 27:10).
Let’s be the kind of neighbor that makes a difference. Both a good vecino and a good prójimo in general. Let’s be Noble Neighbors!
